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The Colonel's Horse (TV series episode)
The Colonel's Horse is the 109th episode of M*A*S*H, the 12th in the fifth season of the show, which originally aired on CBS-TV on December 7, 1976. It was directed by Burt Metcalfe, and written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. Storyline Everybody pitches in to save Colonel Potter's horse, Sophie, who becomes sick while Potter is away in Tokyo. And Margaret asks Hawkeye, not Frank, to operate on her appendix. Full episode summary Everybody pitches in to save Colonel Potter's horse, who becomes sick while Potter is away in Tokyo. And Margaret asks Hawkeye, not Frank, to operate on her appendix. Before he leaves, Hot Lips tells him that her appendix is acting up, and she wants permission to go to Tokyo to get it removed. Potter suggests having the procedure done at the 4077th, but she doesn't want Frank - who handles routine surgeries - to touch her. Hot Lips asks if Hawkeye can do the procedure, if necessary, and Potter agrees. A few days later, Radar is shocked to find Col. Potter's horse, Sophie, laying down in her corral, sick. He asks Hawkeye and B.J. for help. They try to beg off, but Radar finally guilts them into it. At first, they don't really take this seriously, and they make so many jokes Radar gets mad at them for their indifference. Hawkeye and B.J. straighten up. After examining Sophie and not being able to figure out what's wrong, they call B.J.'s father-in-law who is more familiar with veterinary medicine. He tells B.J. that Sophie has colic, a potentially fatal blockage of the intestines due to eating too much dry grass or hay and not drinking enough water to help digest it. The prescription is to keep Sophie on her feet and moving, and not letting her lie down as this will cause the intestines to stay blocked. Also, they must "clean her out" (flush) with lots and lots of warm water, an unappealing prospect. But Hawkeye and B.J. persevere - they hook a hose up to the camp water tank, and with the help of other people in the camp, they fill the tank with warm water, sending it down the hose to the other end, where Hawkeye is handling the rough part. After a minute or two, Sophie whinnies loudly, kicking a wall of her corral - mission accomplished! Just in time for Col. Potter to arrive back in camp. He asks Radar how Sophie's doing. Radar assures him, "Clean as a whistle, inside and out!" That night, Hot Lips staggers into the Swamp, doubled over in pain - her appendix about to burst. Hawkeye grabs B.J. and they take her to the O.R. Potter and Mulcahy are there, too, and then Frank bursts in, demanding to be the one who performs the surgery. Hot Lips tells him in no uncertain terms to get out. The next morning, both Col. Potter and Hawkeye escort their respective patients for a stroll of the compound, both ladies feeling much better. Fun facts * When making the call to his father-in-law, B.J. mentions his name as "Floyd Hayden." This could very well have been the actor Mike Farrell's father-in-law's actual name. as Mike Farrell's real-life wife (at the time) Judy Farrell's maiden name is Hayden. Additionally, Miss Farrell was born in Quapaw, Oklahoma. That is where Radar patches the call to B.J.'s father-in-law. * When B.J. spells H-A-Y-D-E-N to Radar when making the call, Hawkeye sarcastically quips "M-O-U-S-E", which is a reference to "The Mickey Mouse Club." This is a goof; the Korean War ended in 1953, while "The Mickey Mouse Club" didn't debut on television until 1955. *The remastered MEtV version has two parts left out of syndication: Klinger almost getting a Section 8 discharge for Depression but blowing it by acting happy the thought of dancing with [[Laverne Klinger]; Radar talking to Sparky about the movie Sparky got.The part not in the remastered version is BJ climbing the Water tower despite his fear of heights. Guest stars/Recurring cast *Sophie (Colonel Potter's horse) as herself *Kellye Nakahara as Lieutenant Kellye Yamato (uncredited) External links *[http://www.tv.com/shows/mash/the-colonels-horse-43305/ M*A*S*H ''episode ''The Colonel's Horse at TV.com] *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00638428/ M*A*S*H episode The Colonel's Horse at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)] Category:Season 5 episodes